How Zero Powers Our Real-Time Service

We've all felt it: that little spark of delight when an app just works. When your data appears instantly, a chart updates right before your eyes, or a notification arrives the second it's sent. That seamless, "live" experience is no longer a luxury—it's what users expect. But behind the scenes, building it is a huge challenge for developers.

At NextRows, we're obsessed with creating that magical user experience. We knew we needed a fast and reliable real-time foundation, and our search led us to a tool called Zero. This post is the story of our journey—how we're using it to build a better, faster service for you.

What is Zero?

Zero is a tool for real-time data synchronization.

It creates a direct pipeline from our database to your screen. When data changes, Zero instantly sends only that specific change to the user's interface.

Instead of an app constantly asking the server for new data, the app tells Zero what data it needs. Zero then keeps that data updated automatically. This solves many common problems in building interactive apps.

Our Journey to a Better Service

Before Zero, we used traditional methods with common problems:

Database Polling: Our app constantly asked the server for updates. This was inefficient, slowed down the database, and created a laggy user experience.

Complex Code: Manually syncing data required complicated code that was hard to write and debug.

This complexity distracted us from building the features you care about.

Adopting Zero simplified our architecture. Our frontend now subscribes to data views easily. Our backend focuses on business logic and secure data writing. Zero bridges the two, pushing updates to all users instantly.

The Benefits of Zero

Adopting Zero provided key benefits:

Faster Development: Our developers build real-time features quickly without writing complex sync code. They just declare the data needed, and Zero does the rest.

High Performance: Zero sends only small data changes (deltas), not entire datasets. This reduces network traffic and latency for a responsive user experience.

Scalable Architecture: We separated our read and write logic. This makes our system more robust and easier to maintain and scale.

Focus on Innovation: With Zero handling data sync, our team can focus on building user-facing features like E2B Sandboxes and LLM integration.

The Next Step: Local-First Architecture

Real-time sync is a key part of a modern design concept: local-first architecture.

In a local-first app, your device, not the cloud, is the primary source of data. The app reads and writes to a local database, making it extremely fast. The cloud serves as a backup and sync location.

Zero is the perfect engine for this model. It syncs the local data with the cloud and other users. The benefits are significant:

Instant Speed: The app works with local data, so there is no network lag for user actions.

Offline Functionality: The app works perfectly without an internet connection. When reconnected, Zero intelligently merges all offline changes.

Greater Reliability: The app is not dependent on a stable internet connection. It works reliably on flaky networks, improving the user experience.

Join Us

Building a service that feels fast and reliable, whether you're on a blazing-fast connection or a spotty one, is what drives us. It's a journey of constant improvement, and tools like Zero are fundamental to making that happen. We believe that when the technology gets out of the way, the best ideas can come to life.

If this kind of technology and making the very best user experience is your interest, please always reach out to support@nextrows.com with your story and resume. We'd love to have you on our team.